Site Clues Consumers Into Credit Fraud

CardCops.com is a somewhat controversial company that fights credit fraud by exposing and publicizing web site hacks and online fraud techniques. The controversy comes up because some are worried that they show potential crackers and hackers too much detail about how to do their dirty work.

Maybe they do go too far, but they’ve recently released an intriguing free service just for consumers. They allow anyone to type in their credit card number to match it against a database of 100,000 credit cards that have been compromised by thieves. Type in your credit card number? Huh? Is it safe? Are you crazy?

CardCops have been around since the late ’90s and work closely with law enforcement organizations like the U.S. Secret Service. Here’s a quote from Dan Clements, founder of CardCops, “We’re creating a situation where Joe Consumer can check his card on the Internet to see if it’s been possibly abused.”

Should you try this out? CardCaps is a legitimate organization and I trust their security measures, but you should make your own judgement. Even if you decide to try it, you might have to wait a while — their servers were maxed out from all the people trying out the service.

I started using computers in 1978 on the Apple II and was first online (using my “high-speed” 1200 baud modem) in 1989. I’ve managed web sites for several Fortune 500 companies and for internet start-ups.
Working for one of those start-ups is what brought me into the world of credit. I was part of the the executive team that ran QSpace, the first company to offer credit reports over the internet.